Wonder, the New York Times #1 bestseller by R.J. Palacio, engages readers in the world of August Pullman, a fifth grader whose appearance tests the limits of “othering,” turning someone who is different into an “other.” Having home-schooled his whole life, Auggie enters school for his first time while his classmates face his craniofacial abnormality for their first time. Layers of bullying ravel and unravel revealing the potential within each of us for either escalating ill-will or good-will. Each layer ups the ante.

The first layer of bullying occurs when Auggie overhears kids demonize him, including Jack who he thought was a friend. Auggie and Jack overcome this test and their friendship grows stronger. With the second layer, Julian, the lead bully, now targets not only Auggie but all who associate with him. Auggie’s friends are the minority while the majority “enemy group” in this “civil war” “segregates” him and his “allies.” The third layer of bullying brings a new shift. Just as Auggie went from targeted individual in his class to targeted group in his grade, –spoiler alert– the whole school supports him when, threatened by kids from another school, members of the enemy camp come to his aid. After this incident, Auggie astutely asks, “…is it always going to be like this?”

How many of us see a similar pattern between kids “bullying” each other in school and grown-ups “othering” each other in the world? We could all cite examples from history and everyday life. A pessimist might conclude that only in the event of an alien attack from outer (other) space will the world unite. But an optimist might think we don’t need a bigger, newer “other”only to move from one layer of “othering” to the next; we can bypass the pattern altogether. Herein lies the significance of the precepts given by Auggie’s teacher during the school year, those gems of wisdom that inspire goodness. Through them, the students (and readers) learn the difference between being nice and being kind. Anyone can be nice, but it takes effort, a willingness to go out of one’s way, to be kind.

Wonder prompts us to examine how we each can escalate ill-will or good-will towards “others.” Auggie helps his schoolmates rise above their fears, embrace otherness, and experience the joy of kindness. Ultimately, it is up to each of us to show the Auggies of the world that it doesn’t“always have to be like this.”